<p>Validation study of the Parkinson&rsquo;s Fatigue Scale in advanced Parkinson&rsquo;s disease</p>

Abstract

Purpose: To validate the Parkinson’s Fatigue Scale (PFS-16) in advanced Parkinson Disease (APD) patients using the scale’s Spanish version. Patients and methods: In a clinical study for Levodopa-Carbidopa Intestinal Gel (LCIG), 59 patients were assessed over six months using the PFS-16 and other instruments. The psychometric properties of the PFS-16 were then analyzed. Results: Patients (60.7% men) were aged 68.02±7.43 years. PD duration was 12.57±5.97 years. Median Hoehn and Yahr (HY) stage of patients in “on” was 2 (range: 1–4). There were excellent data quality and acceptability for the PFS-16 as a whole, except for moderate-to-high ceiling effects in its items. Two factors explained 67% of the variance, yet parallel analysis demonstrated the unidimensional nature of the PFS-16, whose internal consistency was satisfactory (Cronbach’s alpha=0.93; item homogeneity coefficient=0.19, and item total-corrected correlations=0.50–0.84). PFS-16 total score showed moderate-to-high correlations with fatigue-specific questions within clinical tools, namely item 20 of the Beck Depression Inventory (r S =0.65) and item 4 of the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (r S =0.33). Weak-to-moderate correlations were observed between the PFS-16 and measures of anxiety, depression, apathy, and quality of life. There were no significant differences in PFS-16 total scores when grouped by age, sex, time from diagnosis, HY, and CGI-S. After treatment with LCIG, the relative change in PFS-16 total score was −17.6% and the effect size (Cohen’s d ) was 0.92. Moderate correlations between changes in the PFS-16 and several other clinical tools were also found. Conclusion: In APD patients, the PFS-16 showed satisfactory acceptability, internal consistency, construct validity, and responsiveness.

Fatigue in Parkinson’s disease: Brazilian validation of the modified fatigue impact scale

“…Data concerning factors associated with fatigue in PD are still scarce and contradictory. In contrast of results of the present study, some studies have found association between fatigue and education level, time from diagnosis, female gender, advanced age, severity of PD, and advanced HY disease stages 16,37,38 . Similar to the current study, low-to-high correlations were found between the fatigue (PFS-16) and depression measures 16,39,40 and anxiety assessments 16,40 .…”

“…In the present study, the individuals reported the dose of levodopa levels and many of them use other antiparkinsonian medicine associated. Other studies also confirmed the association of the presence or severity of fatigue (HY) and LEDD 35,36,37 .…”

“…It was stated that it is impossible to calculate the sensitivity and specificity because of the absence of a gold standard instrument which measure fatigue symptom 9 . Therefore, it was used PFS-16 to screen who feels fatigue associated PD to drawn the ROC curve because PFS-16 captures the effects of fatigue considering the subjective experience of fatigue and the impact of this symptom on daily functioning, such as socialization and work 37 as the similar domain of MFIS-PD. Some limitations of this study need to be pointed out.…”

Physiological Benefits of High-intensity Interval Training for Individuals With Parkinson's Disease

“…[100][101][102][103] The PFS-16 questionnaire is the only PD specific scale. 104 The PFS-16 presents self-reported data from 16 questions relating to fatigue in PD. 102 The PFS-16 is considered a reliable, responsive, and sensitive questionnaire in regards to PD-related fatigue symptoms.…”

“…102 The PFS-16 is considered a reliable, responsive, and sensitive questionnaire in regards to PD-related fatigue symptoms. 104 One consideration to note is the diversity and specificity of fatigue rating scales utilized in PD studies. Identifying one universal fatigue scale that is used in PD trials may result in greater efficacy when comparing future studies.…”